Clarification from Cllrs Bashforth and Larkin

The page contains 2 quotes:

Just a bit of clarification regarding this, from our (Royton Councillors) point of view.

Firstly, we share a lot of the concerns that have been raised on here and in person to myself and I'm sure the other Councillors. Whilst we all know there is a need for houses and job opportunities in Royton and across the borough, this has to be done in a way that benefits everybody. I'm not going to go in to the arguments for and against, as I am sure we are all aware of them. We just wanted to clarify the process and what people can expect on Monday and going forward.

The event on Monday at Royton Library is a drop in session. It will not be in the form of a public meeting, and officers from the council will sit down with individuals and small groups of 2-4 people and answer any questions. It's not being done on an appointment basis. There will also be additional council officers on hand to help manage the flow of people and to make sure everybody gets the chance to have a chat with the officers and put their thoughts across. Alongside this, the Royton Councillors will also be present so if anybody wants to discuss this with us there will also be that opportunity.

What is currently taking place is a non-statutory consultation, to try and make sure as many people as possible can inform the discussion and help to shape this strategy. Although the appearance of maps and shaded areas on them is somewhat startling, it has to be emphasised that this is the formulation of a 25 year strategy, and a lot of this can and most probably will change.

I'll finish by reiterating that scores of people turning up at the same time expecting a public meeting will not help anybody.

As has been advertised this is a drop in session, and we want as many people as possible to share their views, be it in person or online, through the GMSF website. There will be multiple further chances for consultation before any plans for any area are even drawn up and we are a long long way from a spade going in the ground.

Hope this has clarified what people can expect on Monday and we hope to see as many of you there on Monday as possible.

The next quote is a followup from Cllr Steve Bashforth

Just to agree with what James has said and to add my bit. Although this is only a provisional search for possible sites that could be used over the next 20 years plus, I am not at all happy that Royton and Shaw have been seen by Greater Manchester as being possibly able to supply all the land that Oldham Borough MUST put forward as part of Greater Manchester's contribution to national UK wide housing and business expansion needs.

Bear in mind that this is not just a Royton or Shaw thing its Greater Manchester wide and affects our neighbouring towns just as much. It’s also important to realise that although GM have picked areas in Royton and Shaw for this search there are ZERO plans submitted for any of the sites shown in Royton so even in the very, very worst case scenario it would be still be a very long time, years even before any building started. We are not even anywhere near that and there are still around 2 years or so before the issue is finalised.

Now I’m NOT defending this, I don’t like it nor do my colleagues and so we (the Royton cllrs) are writing up our submission to GM to show there are many things wrong with this first draft and we intend to highlight them all.

Just take one site as a brief example, Hanging Chadder. Briefly, It’s difficult to see how this site could accommodate 60 houses let alone the 600 claimed. The topography is wrong, the location is wrong, the transport links are inadequate, etc. etc. The same can be said for some of the other sites. As I say, this is just a very brief example but we are preparing very detailed submissions on ALL the Royton sites shown. I’m certain the Shaw & Crompton cllrs will be doing the same for their areas as well.

There is a very real need for good quality housing and industry but it must be in the right place and done at the right time. Please come and speak to us next Monday but please bear in mind that neither the session in Royton on the 28th nor the previous Shaw session have ever been advertised as meetings by OMBC. They are drop-in sessions despite the persistent references to meetings on FB. Again we will be there to speak to as many people as we can in the time but there will be many other opportunities to speak to us over the coming weeks, months and even year or so. Steve B